A commission appointed to redraw New Brunswick’s 49 provincial ridings received eight objections to a new electoral map but only one was approved in its amended final report.
The mainly anglophone riding of Tantramar will not be adding about 800 francophone voters from Shediac-Cap Acadie in the only approved objection.
But since Tantramar would be left with fewer voters than what is allowed under provincial law, MLA’s had to pass legislation last month to allow the commission to make a one-time exception.
“The commission is grateful to the members of the legislative assembly for their decisive action in addressing a concern that we raised in our final report, which could only be remedied through legislation,” said commission co-chair Camille Theriault.
The other seven objections were rejected including:
- The portions of the City of Campbellton that have been placed in electoral district (ED) #2 Restigouche East be placed in ED #1 Restigouche West.
- The portion of the City of Miramichi north of the Miramichi River be placed in ED #10 Miramichi East, that the portion of ED #10 west of highway 126 including Barnaby River and ‘lower highway 118’ be placed in ED #11 Miramichi West and that Baie-Ste.-Anne, Escuminac and the entirety of Hardwicke be placed in ED #10.
- The electoral districts containing the various portions of Kent County be amended from the recommended configuration to prevent the municipality of Champdoré from being included in ED #22 Champdoré-Irishtown.
- The portions of the City of Moncton, including the location of Moncton High School, that have been placed in ED #22 Champdoré-Irishtown be placed in ED #18 Moncton East.
- The portions of the municipality of York-Sunbury that are within ED #37 Oromocto-Sunbury be placed in ED #43 Hanwell-New Maryland and that the municipalities of Tracy and Fredericton Junction along with some adjacent rural areas be moved from ED #43 to ED #37.
- The portions of the City of Fredericton containing the ‘town plat’ that are within ED #40 Fredericton South-Silverwood be placed in ED #39 Fredericton Lincoln.
- The municipality of Saint-Quentin be removed from ED #47 and placed in ED #1 Restigouche West.
The redrawn boundaries will be in place for the next general provincial election, scheduled to be held in October 2024.
The six-member commission was appointed last July.
Two rounds of public hearings were held, beginning with 12 public sessions in August and September, which were followed by the release of the commission’s preliminary report in December.
A second round of hearings were conducted virtually in January.
The commission tabled its final report on March 13 which was followed by a 14-day period to receive objections in response to it which led to the current amended final report.
“We wish to thank the many residents of New Brunswick who took the time to share with us their viewpoints. While we were not able to respond favorably to all the requests we received, it is apparent that interest in our democratic process is very much alive and well,” said Thériault.
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